Rail tool attachment



Jan. Z2, 1946. L s BRADSHAW 2,393,515

RAIL TOOL ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 1'7. 1942` Summa/bam Patented Jan. 22, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL TOOL ATTACHMENT John S. Bradshaw, Ivor, Va.

Application November 17, 1942, Serial No. 465,896

6 Claims. (C1. 29-66) This invention relates to a tool holder for positioning a cutting tool, and is particularly adapted for use in the field in cutting railway rails. This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 465,514, filed November 13, 1942.

Steel rails are usually cut by sawing through the head or bead of the rail and cutting the web and base flanges with a chisel. Cutting with a chisel has always been a two-man job, requiring one man to hold the chisel and another to wield the sledge hammer. Flying particles of metal from the rail, chisel, or hammer present a serious hazard to the men cutting the rail, particularly to the one holding the chisel. It has been desirable for a longI time to devise some means to cut down on the labor necessary in cutting rails, and, at the same time, so safeguard the workmen that accidents will be greatly reduced.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a tool holder, for holding a chisel, which will permit movement of the tool along a line to be cut, and which is readily adjustable to present the tool at a right angle to the surface to be cut even when the surface comprises various planes angularly displaced relative to one another.

Another object is to provide such a holder which is adapted to be clamped directly upon the rail to be out, and may be swung to various positions to suit the angular disposition of the surface to be cut.

It is a further object to provide means to shroud the cutting edge of the tool and the portion of the rail being cut to prevent metallic splinters from flying. Also companion members are provided to encompass the head of the tool and the head of the hammer to catch any particles which may be chipped oif under the impact of the hammer against the chisel.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this application, and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout:

Figure l is an elevational view showing the device of the present invention in position upon a rail, a second position being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is top plan view of the device;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the guide block taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the safety device which rits about the lower end of the chisel; and

Figure 5 is a perspective View of one of the companion members to be placed about the head of the chisel or hammer.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the tool holder comprises a clamp 6 and a swinging frame 1 pivoted at one end to the clamp by a pin 8. The clamp is preferably a heavy cast member, designed to have its central portion 9 rest upon the head of the rail. Extending downwardly from the central portion and spaced apart sufficiently to receive the bead of the rail between them are legs I0 and II, the leg II being curved inwardly .at its lower end toward the arm I0 to hook under the head of the rail. .The arm I0 is bored and tapped to receive a screw I3 which moves inward under the head of the rail to bind the clamp in position. The clamp is placed upon the rail by rst tilting it to place the hook under the bead of the rail and then dropping the clamp into position and tightening the screw I3.

The frame 1 is composed of two parallel channel members I4 and I5, held spaced apart by a sleeve I6 which surrounds the pivot pin The channel members are positioned with their open sides facing inwardly toward one another forming guideways t0 slidably support a guide block I'I. The outer ends of the channels are joined by a bolt I8 passing through openings in the channels, which bolt has a coiled spring I9 surroundl ing its shank between the head of the bolt and the side of one of the channels. Adjustment of a nut 20 threaded on the bolt I B will determine the degree of yieldable pressure with which the channels bear upon the guide block Il.

Two matched castings 2| and 22 held together by bolts 23 form the guide block Il. The top and bottom surfaces of each of the castings are rabbeted as at 24 and 25 to provide reduced portions tOslidably t within the channels. The meeting faces of the castings are cut out to form a rectangular opening 26 when the castings are together. Opposed faces of the opening 26 are bored to receive coil springs 2l which bear against the flat sides of a tool support 28 when it is placed in position extending through the opening 26 perpendicularly to the frame. The springs exert pressure against the tool support to frictionally hold it in any desired position of adjustment, yet have sufcient resiliency to permit a limited amount of freedom to the tool to enable it to cut squarely against the work if the entire tool holder is slightly out of alignment or in cutting on the curve connecting the web and base flange.

The lower end of the tool support has a reduced rounded end 29 which is passed through a hole 30 drilled through the chisel near its outer end and is threaded to receive a nut 3l to rmly hold the chisel against shoulders 32' on the tool support. :A simple stirrup, formed in two sections and hung from either side of the tool support, straddles the nut 3l andhas its two sections bolted together beneath the tool. The stirrup provides a broad supporting area for the tool and relieves the reduced end of the tool support of considerable strain.

With the clamp 6 in position on a rail, the frame is swung to the proper position to bring the tool at the correct angle for cutting. By moving the guide block within the channels, and the tool support through the guide block, the tool may be brought to rest against the surface of the rail to be cut. Sliding the tool support through the guide block will cause the 'tool to moveV along a straight line as the rail is cut. If the tool holder has been adjusted to the position shown by solid lines in Figure 1, the web may be cut. When it is desired to cut the base flange the frame must be shifted to, the position shown by dotted lines in Figure l to bring the tool squarely against the flange. The frame may be moved to an intermediate position to cut the curve connecting the web. and base, and the yielding spring grippers will permit sufficient angular movement to keep the tool properly aligned.

Before proceeding with the cutting of the rail, a protective guard isA placed over the cutting end of the chisel.. This comprises a. collar 32 which encircles the tool at a distance from its end and carries a pair of depending aprons 33 rounded at their lower ends which are secured to the collar by means of rivets 34. extending from the collar and passing through slots 3.5 located at the upper cornersr of the. aprons, the slots in each apron extending from a point near each upper corner and curving convergently downwardly toward the` center of the apron. This allows a certain amount of rocking freedom to the aprons.

, The aprons` are curvilinear transversely to conform to the shape of the collar and, while/a uni- Y form distance apart throughout the major portion of their length, flare outwardly at their bottoms as at 3G to allow their inner faces to contact the surface off the work being cut so as to spread the aprons apart slightly when the chisel is cutting on a curve tol permit the chisel to reach the work. The side edges of' the aprons are joined by` elastic members 31'. to bringl the aprons back to their original positions and to re-center the tool: within the guard whenever the tool has tilted sideways in cutting arounda curve.

The guard is fastened upon the tool by means of a wire fastener 38 of common construction looped about the collar and drawn tight by a bolt 39. The aprons may be made of flexible transparent plastic so that the action of the chisel may be observed.

Companion guard members are placed around the heads of the chisel and hammer. They are collars 40 and 4I of resilient material, similar to the collar 32 of the guardv for the cutting edge of the chisel. As can be seen from the drawing, the collars 40 and 4l are so positioned that they extend beyond the ends of the chisel and hammer. When a blow is struck upon the chisel, the collars 46 and 6i will meet before the hammer strikes the chisel. The collars will compress, their meeting edges sealing tightly to prevent the escape of any particles which might chip oi the chisel or hammer.

Although a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A tool holder comprising a clamp, means carried by the clamp to support a tool in operative position, and a guard to surround the end of the tool and bear against the work, said guard comprising a collarv to fit around the tool, aprons having out-flared rounded lower edges secured near their upper edges to diametrically opposite sides ofthe collar by means of pin and slot connections, whereby the guard may rock to give the tool freedom of movement.

2. A tool holder as claimed in claim l, said aprons being attached to one another by elastic members to draw the aprons together after they have been separated.

3.y A tool holder comprising, a clamp to. grip the head of a rail, a frame comprising spaced guide members pivoted toy said clamp for movement in a vertical plane, a guide block mounted for sliding movement in said guides, a tool support slidably carried in said guide block for movement at right angles to the direction of movement of said guide. block, and a tool. fixed to said tool support, the relative positions of the tool support within the guide block and the guide block within the guide members determining the angle of the frame relative to the clamp and the angle of attack ofthe tool` to the work.

4. In a tool holder as claimed inclaim 3, adjustable means incorporating a yieldable member connecting said guide members to determine the yieldable pressure against said guide block.

5. In a tool holder as claimed' in claim 3, adjustable means incorporating a yield'able member connecting said guide member to determine the yieldable pressure against said guide block, and yieldable means carried by said guide block for frictional engagement with said tool support.

6. Av tool holder comprising a clamp, means carried by said clamp to support a tool in position. to be struck by a hammer, and companion resilient guard members to t about the head of the tool and the hammer, said guard members being of sufficient length tov project beyond the heads of the tool and hammer, theouter faces of said guard members meeting to form a sealed housing under compression when the hammer strikes the tool.

JOHN S. BRADSHAW. 

